Emilia Clarke Opens Up About “Game of Thrones” Ending

I’m glad to learn that I’m not the only person who still has strong opinions about Game of Thrones‘ final season. The show’s actors and actresses have been more or less reticent to share their personal responses to GOT’s divisive end. But more are beginning to open up. For example, in a recent interview with HuffPost, Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen (The Unburnt…Breaker of Chains…you know the drill) expanded on her feelings regarding the death of her character.

Fans of GOT enjoyed watching Daenerys’ triumphant attempts to reclaim her familial throne and “break the wheel” for the majority of the series. But in the final season of the show, things took a turn for the worse. Daenerys and her dragon devastated a city of innocents; her lover-turned-nephew, Jon Snow, ended her fire-and-blood-fueled conquest with a dagger to the heart. Daenerys’ descent into madness and her subsequent assassination were sudden and shocking. Reflecting on Daenerys’ fall from grace, Clarke had this to say:

Yeah, I felt for her. I really felt for her. And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with something? He got away with murder — literally.

Clarke is not the first GOT alum to express frustration at the show’s ending, which depicted an apathetic Bran Stark on the throne and Jon Snow gallivanting with his pals beyond the Wall. Jacob Anderson, who played Daenerys’ loyal commander Grey Worm, shared similar sentiments to that of Clarke’s last September. In an interview with Metro, Anderson did not hold back:

As a punishment, Jon was sent back to the Watch, where he would take no wife, hold no lands, etc etc – much to Grey Worm’s (Anderson) frustration. While Grey Worm is a peaceful guy, the actor who plays him feels Jon literally got away with murder…Jacob joked: “I’d take his head off!”

Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen were the two most popular characters in Game of Thrones for much of the show’s run. Many looked forward to seeing them learn from each other and perhaps even rule side by side. When, instead, the pair were pitted against each other, few were pleased. GOT attempted to justify the murder of the show’s beloved Khaleesi, citing her “madness.” But audiences pushed back with sympathy for her plight and compelling arguments against her quick dismissal as a “Mad Queen.”

For some, the finale of Game of Thrones was heartbreaking. For others, like GOT‘s Carice Van Houten, who played the mysterious Red Priestess, Melisandre, there is indeed a middle ground when you play the game of thrones. Van Houten told Metro

The silliness of it was very smart. I thought, “This is what life is. Some dumbo can become president. ‘That’s the world we live in. We just sort of go, “Uh, that guy,” It was smart that it was just sort of silly. I really liked it, to be honest.

To me, this feels like a bit of a backhanded compliment, but indeed, life can be “silly.” It’s been almost a year since the premiere of Game of Thrones‘ final season, the world is being devastated by a pandemic, and Emilia Clarke, myself, and others around the world still want to complain about the fictitious follies of Jon Snow. So be it.

Are you in the mood to rehash Game of Thrones‘ final season? Air out your grievances in the comments section below.

About The Author

Irene

Irene Enlow has been writing for HBO Watch since 2014. What is Dead May Never Die.

Well, the fact half of the viewers believe Jon was supposed to take the Throne as the rightful Targaryen heir and find his exile redundant while people like Clarke and Anderson believe he should have been completely executed is literally the greatest demonstration to why they needed to find a middle ground in exiling him… The seven kingdoms were just as divided about this as the fans

As Tyrion mentioned in the finale, the Night’s Watch is no longer a job since there’s no threat to protect from. It’s merely a place for “bastards and broken things”– basically an exile. Considering Jon was a King once and the rightful heir to the Throne on top of that, I think it exactly places something in between the two extreme possibilities. The North and it’s allies wouldn’t allow their king to be held hostage and the Targaryen’s supporters wouldn’t let him roam free in the North, let alone be a king of anything. It’s a compromise

You are missing my point. It doesn’t matter what Tyrion says the Night’s Watch is or isn’t. For Jon, who was reluctant to be king in the first place, he gets exactly what he wanted– to go back to a place where he is welcome to go on adventures with his over-sized dog and friends who trust and respect him. It’s like telling an introvert to go to their room. It’s a reward that Jon does not deserve as a kinslayer and queenslayer.

Dvir Ben AsuliMarch 18, 2020

And on a random scroll on Instagram you can find dozen of Stark fans that say that just like Jaime killed the Mad King and didn’t get any punishment for it, Jon needed to take his rightful place as the Targaryen ruler. You can easily find people with claims from both sides. You think he got off too easily and they think he got conned.
Which exactly circles back to my original comment.
If neither side is satisfied with it it’s probably a good compromised. Which is exactly what happens here.

Irene EnlowMarch 18, 2020

Well, I have no horse in this race because the only House I was a fan of was the Greyjoys and I found the Starks AND the Targaryens thoroughly tiresome. But– did Jaime receive “punishment?” No. However, he was socially shunned, his reputation as a knight was destroyed. Whether or not Jon feels guilty, he is very unlikely to suffer any sort of social stigma from his kinslaying and queenslaying. What is the point of exile if it is a mild inconvenience?
I don’t think that the situation was a “compromise.” Jon won. Jon got everything he wanted. Even if it was a true “compromise,” simply because both sides lost doesn’t mean that justice was enacted.
At this point, though, I’d rather have Jon on the throne than Bran, just to have a king who seems mildly engaged with the world.